| Negative life events can have a strong influence on people's lives that can impact many areas of functioning, including social functioning and interpersonal relationships. It has been suggested that social cognitive ability can impact and be impacted by responses to negative life events, which can then significantly contribute to social dysfunction. Research has shown that social cognitive ability can significantly impact response to treatment, utilization of social supports, recovery, and overall wellbeing in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, and eating disorders. Research on the relationship between negative life events and social cognitive ability is scarce and preliminary studies in this area have yielded inconsistent findings. Additionally, previous research investigated this relationship among individuals diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Hence, these previous investigations have been conducted solely among those demonstrating psychological distress to a negative life event.;The current study focused on investigating the unique effects of negative life events on social cognitive ability independent of the level of psychological distress. It examined the specific association between negative life events and four factors of social cognitive ability including implicit Theory of Mind (ToM), explicit ToM, empathic concern and personal distress among a sample of 53 college students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses in a private Northeastern university. Hierarchal multiple regression demonstrated that exposure to negative life events predicted a decrease in reported levels of personal distress. This study demonstrated an inverse association between personal distress and negative life events. Positive social support and interactions are known to be important for trauma processing and recovery and, thus, understanding the association between negative life events and social cognitive abilities is beneficial to supporting recovery. |
